Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sheikh Zayed

For one person, living is cheaper in Sheikh Zayed: $462 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Sheikh Zayed
Learn more

Sheikh Zayed Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Sheikh Zayed

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sheikh Zayed

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Sheikh Zayed actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $462 in Sheikh Zayed.

Lisbon $2,202
Sheikh Zayed $462

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $780 in Sheikh Zayed.

Lisbon $3,274
Sheikh Zayed $780

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,099 in Sheikh Zayed.

Lisbon $4,346
Sheikh Zayed $1,099

Living in Lisbon is roughly 377% more expensive than in Sheikh Zayed, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Sheikh Zayed is 66% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$3.68 E£196

363.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$18.59 E£993

235.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.07 E£217

170.76%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$1.26 E£67.3

147.62%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 €2.02

$0.30 E£15.83

656.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.12 E£6.15

1350.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.28 E£68.3

167.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.70 E£144

38.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$0.80 E£42.81

46.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.70 E£37.32

165.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.54 E£28.89

185.19%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.16 E£62.1

250.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$3.76 E£201

243.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$4.30 E£230

83.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$9.01 E£481

95.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.48 E£78.8

52.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$0.78 E£41.42

124.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.55 E£29.19

243.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$0.34 E£18.25

652.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.26 E£13.91

611.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.32 E£17.28

515.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.27 E£14.56

437.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.20 E£10.60

285.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$1.57 E£84.0

327.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$5.48 E£292

3.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.91 E£48.49

50.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.26 E£121

-6.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.27 E£14.24

759.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.50 E£26.60

690.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.53 E£28.40

98.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$1.11 E£59.5

1445.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.41 E£21.73

434.15%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.8K €30.0K

$29.3K E£1.6M

15.48%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.3K €34.0K

$24.8K E£1.3M

54.12%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$164 €146

$13.92 E£743

1076.80%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$18.48 €16.43

$6.80 E£363

171.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$12.79 E£683

157.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$37.41 E£1,998

22.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$9.25 E£494

101.95%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$2.77 E£148

251.99%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$684 €608

$84.4 E£4,505

710.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$2,064 E£110.2K

753.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$32.64 E£1,743

217.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$44.08 E£2,354

4.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$123 E£6,545

-18.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$52.0 E£2,775

139.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$184 E£9,848

761.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$75.3 E£4,022

1452.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$488 E£26.1K

484.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$184 E£9,843

981.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,033 E£55.1K

654.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$552 E£29.5K

700.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$130 E£6,959

1127.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

21.33

-81.95%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sheikh Zayed: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Sheikh Zayed

$75 16.3% 93.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Sheikh Zayed

$122 26.5% 55.1% $151

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Sheikh Zayed

$70 15.2% 71.6% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Sheikh Zayed

$34 7.3% 84.4% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Sheikh Zayed

$113 24.5% 32.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Sheikh Zayed

$43 9.3% 34.3% $22

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Sheikh Zayed

$4.2 * 0.9% 93.3% $59

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $184 in Sheikh Zayed. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 1128% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $19.00 in Sheikh Zayed for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $122 per month, with Sheikh Zayed cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇪🇬 Sheikh Zayed

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

15:29 3:29 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

80,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Sheikh Zayed 3,770 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sheikh Zayed

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Sheikh Zayed: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sheikh Zayed differ by about 377% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $462 including rent). Sheikh Zayed is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1128% higher in Lisbon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $184 in Sheikh Zayed. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 123% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $462 in Sheikh Zayed – a 377% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $462 in Sheikh Zayed versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sheikh Zayed but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sheikh Zayed the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Sheikh Zayed are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sheikh Zayed gentler on the wallet – expenses run 377% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.